Watch: Boston Veterans Shelter Infested with Bed Bugs, Rats, Roaches

Per a report by WCVB, the New England Center for Homeless Veterans is not providing those who have served our country the help they really need.

“Many, many veterans who really need help do not go there because the conditions are so bad,” said Steve Kelly, an Army veteran who has been renting a room at the center for four years.

From the investigation done by WCVB, city records from the past two and a half years show hundreds of calls to Boston police for problems including illegal drugs, assaults and illegal firearms. There have also been over 400 emergency medical calls from the center in the last year, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

An anonymous veteran showed off welts and scars all over his arms and legs, claiming they were from bedbug bites he received from staying in the shelter.

“I itch all over. It’s a constant struggle,” he said anonymously, in fear he would not be allowed to stay in the center for speaking out against the conditions.

Center CEO Andrew McCawley explained that the center may not be “luxurious,” but it meets the “standards of sanitation.”

“If you look at the general condition of our living areas you will see that they’re not luxurious, they’re not palatial, but I think they meet standards of sanitation,” McCawley said.

The shelter broke ground in May on a $32 million renovation, which will improve the center’s century-old building and also create 35 new apartments for veterans. It is expected to take a year to complete.